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Greg Anderson joins exclusive company with sixth NHRA Pro Stock title

Greg Anderson joins former mentor Warren Johnson and Erica Enders as a six-time NHRA Pro Stock world champion after winner-take-all final round.
17 Nov 2024
Kevin McKenna, NHRA National Dragster Senior Editor
News
Greg Anderson

Greg Anderson knows he won’t eventually win the race against Father Time, but he’s determined to hold off the younger generation of Pro Stock racers for as long as possible. Anderson, who began racing in the factory hot rod class more than three decades so, joined exclusive company by winning his sixth title following a winner-take-all final round against teammate Dallas Glenn.

Anderson joins his former mentor Warren Johnson and current champ Erica Enders as a six-time world champion. The trio trails only 10-time champion Bob Glidden.

Anderson finished off a dominating performance with a 6.510 to Glenn’s 6.516 in a race decided by just .002-second at the finish line stripe.

“I can’t event explain it. Never in my wildest dreams did I see this happening,” said Anderson. “These young guys are so bad to the bone. It’s so hard to win in this class.I’ve had the best car in the class for the last three months and couldn’t get it done but I had a rocket ship today and I didn’t screw it up.”

Anderson’s HendrickCars.com Camaro has been arguably the quickest Pro Stock car for most of the season, but at times he’s had difficulty closing the deal.

Anderson won early season titles in Phoenix and the Charlotte 4-Wide and suffered final round losses in Bristol, Dallas, and Las Vegas. Prior to clinching the title, Anderson led the points just once, following his win in Charlotte, and he entered the Countdown as the No. 4 seed.

“Thanks Mr. H [sponsor Rick Hendrick]. I told you to make room for a trophy and I’m going to bring you something special. The KB Titan team finished 1-2 in the world and that’s too cool.”

The title aside, Anderson will remember his Pomona win as one of the most dominant of his career. Anderson qualified No. 1 with a 6.505 and ran three-straight 6.4s on race day in his wins against Kenny Delco, Cory Reed, and Aaron Stanfield. Anderson’s win over Stanfield was key to this title run as Stanfield was the incoming points leader and could have clinched the title simply by making it to the final round.

Anderson left first by a scant .004-second and extended the lead to win with a 6.488 to Stanfield’s 6.510. Stanfield previously won three world championships in the FlexJet Factory Stock Showdown class and much like Glenn, he’s a rising star in the Pro Stock category.

During his low qualifier interview, Anderson noted that the KB Titan team used the time off between the Las Vegas event and the Pomona finale to evaluate their program and refine their tuning program. The move obviously paid dividends with Anderson’s dominance, and Glenn’s runner-up finish.

Anderson previously won three-straight titles in 2003-05, and also won in 2010 and 2021. In 554 career races, he’s got 106 victories in 182 final rounds and has a one-sided 978-425 record in elimination rounds.